ISB 2013, Fifths

[Sam Sherry]

Originally Posted by Terry McDougal

So Paul . . . your profile is a bit sketchy.

Originally Posted by Paul Warburton

Yeah, I know.

Ah, the interweb.

[Paul Warburton]

Hey, Sam.

Hehe, and no, i've Never been affiliated with the Communist Party.

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Paul Warburton

Hey, Sam.

Hehe, and no, i've Never been affiliated with the Communist Party.

Communist Party? Is that related to playing in Fifths?

[Bin Hire]

Originally Posted by Ken Smith

Communist Party? Is that related to playing in Fifths?

Yes Ken, I must confess to being a little confused too. I think they must be using American humour like we get on Television.

[Terry McDougal]

Is the interweb the same thing as the net (internet)?
Hey, Bob Hope was a funny American. I loved his stuff.
Actually I've thought a bit about tuning in 5ths. I suspect the bass might reverberate better, because of the harmonic series thing.

[Bin Hire]

Originally Posted by Paul Warburton

Hey, Sam.

Hehe, and no, i've Never been affiliated with the Communist Party.

Sorry to labour a point but are Americans not allowed to belong to the Communist Party?
Apologies to all for being off topic.
5ths would include big stretches? I'd surely like to hear more about what they discuss at the ISB fifths convention.

[Jeff White]

Originally Posted by Bin Hire

Sorry to labour a point but are Americans not allowed to belong to the Communist Party?
Apologies to all for being off topic.
5ths would include big stretches? I'd surely like to hear more about what they discuss at the ISB fifths convention.

Actually, it's more about an efficient use of the left hand than stretching- Watch Joel Quarrington play on youtube if you can. He's the most prominent living bassist using the tuning, and certainly the guy when it comes to Fifths tuning. He was also the last teacher I had before becoming a professional bass player. What he does is actually very akin to what Rabbath does. Joel studied with Petracchi as well, and his methods have also enabled what he does. When i studied with him ten years ago, Joel was using all Thomastik Dominant strings which have massive tension. Thomastik also made a set of Bel Cantos for him that were designed for 5th tuning.

Also, Ken, Sprirocores might be making a big comeback in the bowed world. I have it on good authority that one of the finalists for principal of Chicago played the audition with a full set.

[Bin Hire]

Originally Posted by Jeff White

Actually, it's more about an efficient use of the left hand than stretching- Watch Joel Quarrington play on youtube if you can. He's the most prominent living bassist using the tuning, and certainly the guy when it comes to Fifths tuning. He was also the last teacher I had before becoming a professional bass player. What he does is actually very akin to what Rabbath does. Joel studied with Petracchi as well, and his methods have also enabled what he does. When i studied with him ten years ago, Joel was using all Thomastik Dominant strings which have massive tension. Thomastik also made a set of Bel Cantos for him that were designed for 5th tuning.

Thanks Jeff. Good point. I checked out Mr Quarrington on YouTube.
I also found this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaE5s...eature=related
I watched all three parts. What a player!
How's your Italian?

I thought you might enjoy these too:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2ggfFFPh4E
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzNHU...eature=related

[Jeff White]

Originally Posted by Bin Hire

Thanks Jeff. Good point. I checked out Mr Quarrington on YouTube.
I also found this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaE5s...eature=related
I watched all three parts. What a player!
How's your Italian?

I thought you might enjoy these too:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2ggfFFPh4E
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzNHU...eature=related

"I don't consider myself particularly talented..." That I would submit is the one flaw in Joel's teaching. He sometimes fails to understand the limitations of his more mortal students. Joel practiced 8 hours a day when he was studying but 8 hours a day is not going to turn any ordinary bass player into Joel Quarrington.

[Robert J Spear]

It was quite a pleasure to return to this thread and find some activity on the fifths-tuning topic. Since I've just designed and built (or am building) a couple of new basses, including one five-stringer, the question of string tension is one that couldn't be avoided. What I learned is that string tension and tension on the top of the instrument are not the same thing. The tension of the strings is controlled by a lot of factors including diameter, materials, tuning pitch, and length, but tension on the belly is a function of the string angle over the bridge.

Consider if you had a bridge carrying strings at an angle of zero. There would be no downward tension to speak of on the belly except the bare minimum amount needed to keep the bridge in place. It wouldn't matter how many strings were on the bridge; pressure on the belly would always be zero. When you begin increasing the angle, only then does pressure on the top become a factor. If you add strings, the downward pressure increases; if you remove strings, it decreases. I've read many comments in the literature that indicate that the reason many old basses only had three strings was that it allowed a freer top vibration and produced less pressure.

Downward pressure on the top can be mitigated by decreasing the angle of the neck or by raising the saddle. I used a combination of the two, but it's a game that can only be played so far. It was a very interesting exercise. A couple of years ago I had the chance to hear a highly experimental 15" viola a friend of mine made that had almost no string angle at the bridge. When it came out of its case, my immediate reaction was that it was an ingenious design that would have absolutely no sound at all. I was amazed at how good it sounded! Lots of mysterious things to learn in this biz.